The Elphinstone Hotel in Biggar
I stayed at the cosy and welcoming Elphinstone Hotel in Biggar. It features a restaurant that has a Taste Our Best Award from VisitScotland. This hotel is a great base for exploring the attractions of Lanarkshire and the Scottish Borders. Read on for my review of the hotel.
The History Bit Let your imagination take you back to the eighteenth century and you are travelling from Edinburgh to Carlisle on a stagecoach. The horses had to be changed every 10 miles or so and this takes place at a network of coaching inns that provided facilities like accommodation, meals and stables. The Elphinstone in Biggar was one of those inns. For over 400 years it played host to many travellers including Queen Victoria's Royal Company of Archers, the Dukes of Bucchleuch and acquaintances of Robert Burns. It is an impressive historical pedigree that is carried through nicely to the present day. Overview The Elphinstone is in a perfect location, on the High Street, right next to the town's attractions. The white washed exterior screams 'coaching inn' and it looks really pretty with the profusion of flowers in window boxes and hanging baskets. 
The entrance to the Elphinstone with flower displays
The bar and lounge have plenty of coaching in features- low ceilings, roof beams, squeaky floorboards and working fires. The 11 bedrooms are a more modern style, but the traditional furniture and the sash and case windows (double glazed) maintain a connection to the building's past. The staff are friendly, welcoming and easy going.
The lounge bar area of the Elphinstone Hotel featuring plenty of roof beams
Rooms
I stayed in room 9. This is a family room with a double bed and bunk beds. Here is my video tour of the room:
There are two sash and case windows that bring a generous amount of natural light into the room. It is very spacious and includes a seating area where you can relax with a tea or coffee and browse the brochures of what there is to see and do in the area.
The seating area in room 9 of the Elphinstone Hotel
The double bed in room 9 at the Elphinstone Hotel provided a great sleep.
The bed was really comfortable and I had an amazing night's sleep. I liked that the room has two televisions- one next to the bunk beds and one next to the double bed- to allow children and adults to watch their own thing.
Everything in the room was immaculate and the bathroom sparkling. A nice touch is the inclusion of Arran Aromatics shower and bath products. 
The sparkling bathroom at the Elphinstone Hotel features Arran Aromatics bath and shower products
Restaurant and Bar
I took a cosy table next to the fire place in the lounge. The menu is impressive in it's variety and choice. It goes way beyond traditional pub grub and features curries, lamb tagine and pasta. There is something for everyone here. The Elphinstone has a VisitScotland Taste our Best award. What this means is that the menu features ingredients with Scottish provenance, local ingredients and seasonal ingredients. The first page of the menu lists the suppliers, including meat from the butcher on the High Street, fish from the deli on the High Street and ice cream from the sweet shop on the High Street. I ordered the haggis croquettes for the starter. They were beautifully crispy on the outside, giving a satisfying crunch. The interior of peppery meat was delicious and the creamy peppery sauce was the perfect accompaniment. They left me with a nice, warming aftertaste. I could easily have eaten another portion! 
Haggis croquettes at The Elphinstone Hotel
For my main course I had the fish and chips. It was exactly how you want this meal to be with succulent flaky white fish inside non-greasy crispy batter and chips with fluffy insides and a crunch on the outside.
Fish and Chips at The Elphinstone Hotel
The dessert menu is full of temptation, in particular the ice cream sundaes made with ice cream from the sweet shop just a few doors down from the hotel. The choices included Brownie, Applie Pie and Malteser Delight. I found it hard to decide so asked my server for her recommendation and she said the Malteser Delight was a good bet. When it arrived there was a gasp from the other dinners in the room- "look at that!" It looks the business and it was a joy to dig my spoon in and crunch the Maltesers buried within the vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce.
Malteser Delight at The Elphinstone Hotel
The bar offers a changing menu of guest ales and I tried a very nice one from The Orkney Brewery. Those who love their gin will be pleased to find an extensive menu of gins and tonics. Wines, cocktails and spirits are also well represented at the hotel.
Breakfast This is a buffet format. There is a table set out with cereal, juice, yoghurt and a bowl of fresh fruit salad that had melon, kiwi, pineapple and orange. You can also help yourself to the hot selection which includes sausage, fried eggs, beans, tomato, potato scones and bacon. I usually prefer my breakfast cooked to order, but the quality and taste was excellent. I really enjoyed it.
Biggar and the local area
The town of Biggar has plenty to see and do. There is an excellent museum, interesting architecture and a superb collection of independent shops. Biggar is located in South Lanarkshire, near to the border with the Scottish Borders. Pebbles is just 18 miles from Biggar and Dawyck Botanic Garden is just 10 miles away. New Lanark World Heritage Site is around 13 miles from Biggar. Getting Here I reached Biggar by taking a train to Addiewell (40 minutes from Edinburgh, 52 minutes from Glasgow) and then cycling around 19 miles. The route is mainly by quiet country roads. Carstairs station is closer- a 10 mile cycle from Biggar- but trains are less frequent (around 40 minutes from Glasgow, under 30 minutes from Edinburgh). Disclaimer - My accommodation and meals were provided for the purposes of this review. These views are my own and reflect my honest experience.
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AuthorMy name is Colin Baird and I want to see all of Scotland by bicycle. Follow my blog on Facebook: Categories
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